Rapid growth in the use of the Internet over the last few years has had a considerable impact on economies. It is not simply a matter of the 'new economy', but of a transformation of all enterprise processes, new employer-employee relationships deriving from new ways of organising work, and the necessary link with knowledge which is becoming vital. Knowledge is now a recognised element of competitiveness, and that in turn means it must be easily accessible to everyone at all times. In the field of vocational training, this has brought about nothing short of a revolution, with most training packages still organised according to models that are quickly becoming archaic – in other words, with people obliged to go to a particular place on a particular time to undergo training delivered by 'a person who knows', and therefore in receiving mode rather than in one of ongoing or regular exchange. Apart from being tedious, this traditional formula tends to promote segregated access to knowledge, and in particular takes no account of something that has become a key factor in the business world: time and speed in the context of globalisation.

This summarised report on vocational training for tele-activities in Europe reports on some current training programmes, and also seeks to draw up a list of needs, and of the pedagogical tools that are in use and available. The research that went into producing this report has revealed a fact of the highest significance: that tele-training is an extremely volatile issue that is being constructed in a constantly changing environment. For example, products and producers are difficult to identify because the plethora of disappearances, mergers/absorptions, partnerships and new companies means one has to be permanently on the alert if one wants to sufficiently well informed to choose tools and adapt to those that derive most benefit from the use of new technology. It is worth noting that an exhaustive study of the comparative analysis of e-learning platforms conducted by French researchers in 1999-2000 largely identified different products from year to year because of these movements. Clearly, e-learning and distance learning involving intensive use of technology, including the Internet, constitute a new, fast-growing activity. The reason for that is simple. One the one hand, there has been a fairly collective, growing awareness of the importance of knowledge; on the other hand, more and more people need to be able to train up quickly as the need arises, and, if possible without having to travel too far, in order to become more efficient at their jobs.

If one considers the kind of training designed to enable teleworkers of the future, whether they are employed or entrepreneurs, to offer tele-service activities, clearly one's first thought is the fact that some training should – at least in part – be available on a distance-learning basis through the use of existing technological resources. Sadly, this is not the case. For one thing, there are very few training packages specifically on the subject, and those that do exist are often based on very traditional teaching methods. Things are moving quickly and products on the market are changing fast, but there are still parts of Europe where it is hard to train up for teleworking. However, it is also becoming easier to put together a telework training package based on e-learning simply by 'shopping around'. Training programmes of this sort frequently have a significant technological component: indeed, e-learning packages based on IT (e.g. materials, office technology, presentation, publication, communications and the Internet) are in plentiful supply on all markets. The phenomenon took shape in a single year. It is now quite easy, if you are prepared to go to some trouble, to train up for a very reasonable sum of money.

The report provides a summary of the various components of e-learning, namely platforms, teaching methods and curricula. It also contains a long, but not exhaustive, list of the main websites designed to help readers to find their way about, and choose some to add to their lists of 'favourites'. It stands to reason that such a list does not remain up-to-date for long. That is why there are plans to update the http://www.euro-telework.org website regularly until the end of the year, and then another site yet to be determined, and whose address will be communicated in due course.

The summary reveals that products have been developed in academic institutions both in the United States and in Europe. It is important to acknowledge the energy with which the academic community the world over is setting up virtual universities and virtual campuses. This return to university study has been accompanied by the development of new diplomas for which students can prepare via distance learning and in ways that involve quite different teaching methods and relationships. Disciplines of all kinds – from technical subjects at engineering school and in commerce to management and law – are affected. When the children now at school, college or high school (where they are growing increasingly familiar with computers, multimedia and communications media and cooperative working) get to university, they will find it perfectly natural to work on a virtual campus.

All of this – and it is where the report concludes – forces us to think very seriously about the extraordinary transformation that is taking place, and which will result in a radical change in the relationships and organisation of work in the coming years. It follows that today's enterprises and employees must carry out an urgent review of their in-house training programmes and courses, and enable as many as possible to learn how to use technological tools, and to access the training modules they need to maintain and improve the level of their competences. Many large enterprises have already acknowledged this and have set up, or are in the process of setting up, in-house virtual campuses for their staff. The number of company universities in the United States has risen from 400 to 1600 in the last ten years, and they are forecast to overtake academic universities by 2010. According to an IDC study, the amount of e-learning is expected to increase no less spectacularly from €64m in 2000 to €244m in 2004.

http://www.euro-telework.org